Ericsson raises 5G expectations

Swedish telecom giant Ericsson says global 5G subscriptions are expected to reach 220 million by the end of this year, revised up from its June forecast of 190 million.

According to the latest Ericsson Mobility Report, issued in November, total mobile data traffic worldwide is expected to reach 226 exabytes (EB) per month in 2026, up from its previous forecast of 164EB per month in June.

The steady growth in data traffic is being driven by 5G connectivity, and due to irreversible changes in the ways that people live and work representing a big leap forward in the journey toward digitalisation, the report indicates.

In Southeast Asia and Oceania, total mobile data traffic is expected to reach 32EB per month in 2026, which is equivalent to 33 gigabytes per month per smartphone. During…